[ARCHIVED] Observer Ability To See if Assignment "Submitted" and / or Marked as "Done"

[DLA]

Perhaps this feature exists and I just haven't found it. My children's middle school is using Canvas and parents sign-up with Observer access. I can see the assignments, the assignment instructions, and text indicating whether the assignment is configured as a "submit" or "mark as done" assignment. I have not yet found a way (using my observer account) to see if my child has actually "submitted" something or marked something as done.  I also cannot review in read-only mode what was submitted. Please consider adding this capability. Since students are virtual 3 days and on-site 2 days, parents are expected to act as "teachers" to make sure kids are getting their work done on virtual days. Without this feature, I cannot fulfill my expected role in an effective manner.

[KristinL]

Hi @DLA --

It's awesome you're coaching your student! It sounds like you are using the Canvas Parent app, is that true?

From the browser, you can access lots of information, including status, score, rubric, feedback, and a view of what was submitted!

How do I view the Grades page for a student as an observer? 

If you have any questions about the observer role or the differences between the browser and the Canvas Parent app, feel free to keep the conversation going. I'd be happy to collaborate!

[DLA]

Thanks so much for the reply. One of my daughter's teachers is only using the "Module" functionality - grades are being posted in another application (and there's a delay).  I'd love the ability to see whether the work has been submitted in the observer Module view before it has even been graded.  It would allow me to monitor that assignments are being done without having my daughter have to show me in her account. It would give her a feeling of greater autonomy while allowing me to do what the school and teachers are asking me to do as a parent on virtual days. Thanks!

[KristinL]

Thanks for the context! 

There IS a way, actually. However, the instructor would need to add the function by adding Module Requirements to each module. Students then can see checkmarks as they progress through content. It's nice for the teacher too.

While I'm not if/how you'd like to share that information, I'll show you what's possible:

How do I add requirements to a module? 

How do I use modules to view the progress of students in a course? 

How do I view Modules as a student? 

[DLA]

My child (the student) does see the check marks.  However I cannot see the check marks in the observer view. As an observer, my module view looks just the same as it did BEFORE she completed the work.  After my child submits the work, my child's student view changes and check marks are displayed. However my observer view does not change at all. I have a side-by-side image I can share but uploading files appears to be turned off for community chats.

[lwjohnson44]

@DLA , @KristinL :

Has the question of the student seeing checkmarks but the observer not been answered yet?

[DLA]

@lwjohnson44  @KristinL I have not found a way to view submitted status in the web interface (which would be my preferred method). I did install the Canvas Parent app and I can see the submitted status in the app. I did have an issue last night in the app where the Calendar view listed an assignment as NOT submitted and when I toggled over to the Courses view the assignment WAS submitted. When I toggled back to the Calendar view, the status changed. So prepare for some toggling in the app in order to get an accurate picture. I do hope there are plans to enhance the Web interface so I can use my computer and not my phone…

[KristinL]

I should add -- The Canvas Parent app has a great weekly at-a-glance view that may help you as you navigate the instructor's sequencing.

What is the Canvas Parent app? 

How do I view the calendar of events and assignments for a student in the Canvas Parent app on my iO...

[shebull69]

My sixth grader is new to Canvas (and so am I).  I have paired my parent account to hers.  Please advise me as to the best way to find out which assignments  she still needs to complete.  I've been told  using the Calendar or the To Do list is not adequate for this task.  Also, I'm told some completed things on the calendar get crossed thru while others do not.  My daughter insists she's completed and turned in assignments I ask her about that I see not crossed out on the calendar or that are still listed on the To Do list.  So, how can I tell what she has left to do?  Thanks very much!

[KristinL]

Hi @shebull69 -

I think the calendar on the Canvas Parent app or the web is a great place to start! I also like the to-do list from the perspective of the student. It's a nice way to keep track of anything that a teacher has associated with a deadline. For your daughter, I encourage her to also look at the Assignments page. It's nicely organized into categories so she can keep track of what's past, what's coming up, and what's overdue. How do I view Assignments as a student? 

For observers, I especially like the Canvas Parent app's weekly calendar view because it says what has been submitted, been graded, or is late.

Additionally, you could use the Grades page for each course to see exactly what's scheduled and what has been turned in or received a score/feedback. There's a lot of information there. How do I view the Grades page for a student as an observer? 

If you have any follow-up questions, please let me know. I'd be happy to collaborate! Canvas is a great tool. I know it's new, but stick with it! 🙂

[jklblair]

Hi klundstrum,

Seeing progress and status of assignments through each child, class, module, assignment, etc is very cumbersome.  How can I see the status of assignments for both my children, for all classes, for all assignments in one view without having to click through each course or filter the grades screen by each course.  Can there be an ALL Courses filter added to the grades screen?  This would be sooo helpful, much more organized and cut down on a lot or confusion and frustration.

The "Coming Up" list also really doesn't help as it show all the classes that are coming up as well.  I just want to be able to see assignments, due dates and if they have been submitted or not.

Thank you

[awsikes]

I try to use the Calendar in my Observer account to see if my daughter's assignments have been submitted.  However, while on her calendar, submitted assignments are crossed out, this is not visible on my calendar.  They all look the same, whether they are new, she has submitted them or they have been graded.

Is there some setting that needs to be changed (either my setting or the teacher's or the school district's) so I can see submitted assignments crossed out, etc?

[Mike92]

Hey there, jumping in.

It seems that none of my children's teachers are using "Assignments" as you have them described in the link above.

Seeing what is complete/submitted a glance is what I'm after and what would help my kids too. Digging through and opening every assignment to ensure that what is in the to-do list, on the calendar, in the modules, on the dashboard, or in some other spot yet to be discovered as our teachers learn to navigate all of this too, means that we are spending a significant amount of time ensuring that every assignment is complete. 

We can see the assignment, the due date, and the points, but without opening it we can't see that it is done. 

This problem is exacerbated by the weeks of already completed assignments that are piling up within the modules and burying the current week's assignments.

A simple checkmark, or "submitted," or "complete," or your favorite emoji indicating at a glance, without a single extra click, that an assignment is 'done' would be a huge help and save much time and frustration as we organize our daily and weekly tasks. 

Bonus: it would be great if assignments could be sorted by done and not done as well so that those yet to be done rise to the top of the pile. 

[KristinL]

Hi @Mike92 -

Have you explored the Canvas Parent app? There's a weekly view that you may find really helpful!

On the grades page, there are symbols that help you identify what has been submitted and what has not, but the Canvas Parent app is color-coded!

How do I view the Grades page for a student as an observer? 

How are your students' teachers sharing assignments? Anything that has points associated with it would be listed under Assignments for both students and observers.

[spanza]

Can Observers see the actual content a student has written in an assignment? Can Observers read what students write in assignments that are linked via google? This is a confidentiality issue for me that I need to find out - thanks

[KristinL]

Hi @spanza -

If the Observer is linked to the student, they can see submissions (the standard ones -- text, URL, file, media). However, if a Google Document is submitted, it's different. I believe the Observer would need to have view access, which isn't automatic with the pairing between Observer and Student.

[spanza]

Thx - how would I check that?

[KristinL]

Hi @spanza - I just did! With the URL submission of a Google Doc, the Observer was prompted to sign-in to their Google account. Since the assignment wasn't shared with them, access wasn't there.

[MikeHarrity]

Agree.  See all assignments on the calendar but not knowing if they were submitted or marked done does not enable us to monitor our children.  Is this a sofware limitation or is there a setting on my end tha would enable this feaure?

thanks

[KristinL]

@MikeHarrity - You can't see this from the Calendar in a browser, but it is possible through the Calendar in the Canvas Parent app. For the easiest broser-based "check-in" regarding submissions, it's best to go through Grades.

How do I use the Canvas Parent app on my Android device? 

How do I view the Grades page for a student as an observer? 

[kmattaparti]

With tens of thousands of students & parents using Canvas apps, I doubt if any usability research has been done in designing the user interface or user experience survey. Sorry to say this but having experience designing many applications myself, I find the the interfaces unintuitive, incomplete and out dated in many regards. Even after one month since my 5th graders school started using this, it is still unclear to me how to find out the basic question any parent would want to check every day - what assignments are due, when, whether submitted/graded or not, if delayed can it still be submitted or updated if there are teacher comments. This should all be an easy single snapshot without having to click every assignment and sometimes even after clicking an assignment I don't get the complete picture. I see many user experience related issues, some of which I reported through the help, but not received any response so far. The LMS platform may have most of the functionality but it requires some serious UX redesign keeping in mind the various user personas - considering different age groups starting from kindergartner to grandparent and different levels of experience using these type of applications.

[mmarple]

I have a child in elementary school and one in middle school. I can see what assignments they have but I can't see if they have been submitted or not. So when they tell me they are done I have to go through each assignment (mulitple assignments for each class) on their laptops (not from observer log in) to see if they completed the assignment and not all classes even show up that something has been submitted. Am I missing something? Just like the elementary emails from the teacher are showing up in my inbox in canvas but the middle school teachers emails only show up in my personal gmail account. Is this a user error or is this something that isn't available in the system? If it isn't available in the system can you please tell me how I am suppose to keep up with my kids assignments on submission if I can't tell what they have submitted? Due dates also don't pop up for each class. Some teachers have it enabled and some don't. How can I tell if my kids are going to be late on an assignment if I can't see a due date and neither can they.

Thanks!

[KristinL]

Hi @mmarple -

I think the easiest way to check whether not an assignment has been submitted is through the course Grades page.

How do I view the Grades page for a student as an observer? 

Alternatively (and probably even easier!) is using the Canvas Parent app. Viewing one student at a time, you see a week-at-a-glance, including assignments on the calendar. That will work great for the teacher who uses due dates!

How do I use the Canvas Parent app on my iOS device? 

With the different email locations, are your students in the same district? If so, you should receive notifications in the same location. However, if the middle school is using email correspondence instead of the Canvas Inbox, unfortunately, there's not a way for Canvas to help you organize them in one place.

I encourage you to reach out to your students' teachers so they understand how helpful due dates and times are to students and families. I completely understand how that would help organize your day!